A Great Loss

AH’s Little Trouble Maker – A.K.A. Hershey, Hersh, Old Man, Buddy – June 10, 1996 – April 5, 2010

This has been a very hard post to write. We suffered a great loss on Monday, April 5th when Hershey passed away on his own due to congestive heart failure. He had been coughing a little every now and then and I knew this was a symptom of heart failure. He had been diagnosed with a slightly congestive heart years ago, but had never shown signs of it getting worse.

I took him to the vet on Saturday, and the vet did confirm that his heart murmur was at a 5 on a scale of 1 to 6. He was still his happy self on Saturday and even went out into the big back yard to do some sniffing around. Sunday was pretty much normal until that night when he wasn’t interested in eating his hard food. I attempted to get him to eat by giving him canned food and he scarfed it right up, so I wasn’t too concerned. But Sunday night he was up most of the night coughing and I tried to comfort him as best I could while he rested in bed with us.

Monday morning, I knew he wasn’t doing well and thought I would have another 24-48 hours to make “the decision” if he didn’t get any better. Hershey had always been a fighter with all the health issues he had over the past decade, but I guess he was just tired of fighting. Shawn and I got home to find he had already passed.

We have since gotten his ashes back and they rest on our dresser in our bedroom. Hershey was such a kind and loving dog that will never be replaced in our hearts. He was my first dog that I ever purchased on my own and was my sole responsibility of taking care of. I hope I did a good job in his eyes.

We will always love you Hershey, and you will never be forgotten.